Be the kid in this cookie shop

Mar 04, 2013, 03:05 IST
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Soma Das

Having started in February this year, Cookie Garage is a venture by two homemakers � Vicky Kamlani and Renisha Bharvani � and offers an assortment of baked goodies including chocolate chip cookies, cornflake cookies, cheese biscuits and ready-to-eat waffles

Homemaker Vicky Kamlani grew up in New York and returned to Mumbai seven years ago. Being a hardcore foodie as well as a cook and baker, she realised she wasn’t able to find the kind of freshly-baked cookies that she enjoyed over the years when she was abroad. The varieties that she came across in the market were loaded with preservatives, and had a hard texture.

Waffle Thingy

While dropping her children off to school she came in contact with homemaker Renisha Bharvani, an Indian who had grown up in Singapore and who shared a similar passion for baking. Together, they started baking cookies for friends and family. Spurred by the response, they decided to start selling home-baked cookies, and that’s how Cookie Garage took shape in February this year.

Chocolate Chunk Pics Pradeep Dhivar

Over the counter In the last month, the duo has organised pop-up shops at various events across the city, including at a wine festival and at the opening of a café. Says Kamlani, “We make the cookies personally and handle everything from kneading the dough to baking and packing the cookies. At times, it gets hectic, especially if there are bulk orders.”

Bharvani and Kamlani are keen to create new cookie variants in the near future. “We also plan to introduce packages for Diwali, Christmas and Valentine’s Day,” shares Bharvani. She admits there are certain challenges they face as well: “For a start, the equipment is expensive, procuring retail space in the city is also very costly. That’s why we chose to be online and make our presence felt through pop-up shops and at events.”

For smaller orders, a day’s advance notice should suffice, while for larger orders, the duo requires a week’s time.